The present invention relates to the textile industry. More particularly it relates to an improvement in a typical atmospheric dye machine. This improvement provides an atmospheric dye machine with the capability to attain and maintain higher temperatures which are otherwise not achievable.
A typical unmodified atmospheric dye machine contains a quantity of water, dye and some quantity of carrier agent. The liquor resulting from mixing these ingredients is heated typically by steam to the requisite temperature needed for the specific dye operation. A textile is mechanically conveyed through the heated liquor continuously until completion of the dying process.
The prior art machines which operate at atmospheric pressures are limited by the operating temperatures which they can maintain. An unmodified machine can reach temperatures of 195 degrees F. in the liquor bath. This temperature has proven to be the limit of such machines. To successfully dye polyester however, a threshold of 208 degrees F. is required. An unmodified atmospheric dye machine cannot attain temperatures in this range.
Modification of an atmospheric dyebeck to include a heat exchanger and a recirculation pump typically allow the operator to achieve temperatures as high as 206 degrees F. in the liquor bath, and the applicant is aware of a few rare instances when temperatures as high as 208 degrees F. have been reached. However, the problem with this modification is that the temperature is limited by the onset of pump cavitation which occurs at these temperatures. Although 208 degrees F. is theoretically possible, if this temperature were achieved it could not be maintained without the cavitation burning up the pump.
Until now, the only viable method which could successfully dye polyesters was to use a pressurized dye machine. Through the operation of pressure, higher temperatures could be maintained within the liquor bath and polyesters could be properly dyed. However, the cost to purchase pressurized dying equipment and the cost to operate the same is expensive and therefore prohibitive to the smaller company.
The present invention overcomes the deficiencies found with atmospheric dye machines and provides the industry with an alternative to investing in a pressurized system. Use of the present invention allows an operator to achieve maintainable temperatures of 211 to 212 degrees F. at sea level under atmospheric conditions. The present invention makes use of convection, natural circulation, and pressure differentials to eliminate the deficiencies found in the prior art systems. It also provides the public with an invention readily adaptable to existing dye machinery thereby making it cost effective for the owner to modify and operate this existing machinery at the higher temperatures needed to dye polyesters.
Additional advantages which have proven to be inherent to the present invention are that the present invention can use non-toxic, biodegradeable dye carriers, the quantity of dye necessary for satisfactory results is less than prior art devices, and the production time has been reduced to approximately one-tenth of its former time of 24 hours. The reduction in production time alone provides the dyer with a great deal of time and energy savings.